Pacers are the team that never tanked. The NBA should rejoice

As an exasperated league continues its never-ending quest to stamp out tanking, here come the Indiana Pacers rising from the debris of mediocrity, right on cue.

There is a long-held belief in the NBA that the worst place to be is stuck in the middle. Never bad enough to be in position to draft top talent, but never quite good enough to compete for championships. It’s the 405 in Los Angeles and it’s rush hour.

The NBA has increased its efforts in recent years to abolish tanking. It can use the Pacers as proof it’s possible to win big without it. Indiana is returning to the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years after plenty of seasons spent stuck in the middle, but it has never once entered a season trying to lose.

Oh, there have been plenty of losses along the way. Indiana won 25 games in Rick Carlisle’s return season, but it was a year wrecked with injuries. In this case, intent matters. The Pacers began the 2021-22 season with playoff aspirations but became sellers at the trade deadline, sending Caris LeVert to the Cleveland Cavaliers for picks and acquiring Tyrese Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings in a separate deal that reshaped their future.

At no point did the franchise enter a season with the idea of playing for lottery odds instead of wins. Not when Larry Bird was there, not when Frank Vogel coached, not when Carlisle was there the first time, and certainly not now.

They’ve been tempted. The Pacers came close to acquiring Russell Westbrook’s massive expiring contract in 2022 and picking up a first-round pick for owner Herb Simon’s willingness to pay him. But such a move would have been a concession that the Pacers were giving up and bottoming out. The deal collapsed when the Lakers refused to add another first-rounder, and Myles Turner remained in Indianapolis. Now they’re thrilled to still have him.

HOW THE PACERS WERE BUILT 🏁 pic.twitter.com/ZhpFQrZM71

— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2025

Players never compete intending to lose, of course. But front offices can rig rosters so winning is nearly impossible. The Pacers never did that. In fact, throughout the last quarter century, they have been more of a model for exactly how not to compete for an NBA championship.

They made the playoffs nine out of 10 years between 2011 and 2020 but advanced to the conference finals only once. They were eliminated in the first round five consecutive years — the definition of milquetoast.

That was during the era of super teams when LeBron James reigned in the East. Now the Pacers are thriving with healthy organizational development. Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker were top 10 selections. The rest of this roster was constructed with mid-round picks or lower, aggressive trades, economical free-agent signings and a touch of patience.

They resisted the urge to give up on Turner too soon. They gambled on Haliburton when they traded away Domantas Sabonis, who made a pair of All-Star games while with the Pacers. They gambled on Pascal Siakam, trading three first-round picks for a player who was close to free agency. Now, Siakam is the MVP of the conference finals and still wearing Pacers colors.

They haven’t paid the luxury tax since 2006. They haven’t picked in the top five since 1988.

Yet they played for the NBA Cup and advanced to the conference finals last season, and now they’re four wins from a championship. Rarely have teams beaten a pair of 60-win teams to win a title. The Houston Rockets were the last to do it, in 1994.

If they conquer the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pacers will become the first team in NBA history to beat a pair of 64-win teams en route to a ring. They already eliminated the 64-win Cavs in the second round, and the Thunder won 68 games this season.

Similarly, Indiana can eliminate seven All-NBA players just in this postseason. It ended the seasons of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Still to come are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Considering Haliburton was a third-team All-NBA selection, the Pacers could eliminate half of the remaining All-NBA players this postseason. They might not be the dominant monsters of dynasties past, but this has a chance to become a historic run of success nonetheless.

This is exactly how the league wants teams to build now. What didn’t seem feasible when stars were partnering up in desirable markets now might be the best path forward: try hard, compete, draft wisely and organically develop talent the hard way. It’s how the Denver Nuggets won two years ago. It’s how the Pacers are doing it now.

The last two lottery winners cashed in odds of 3 percent or less to win the No. 1 pick, an indication the current system is working as the league intended since flattening the lottery odds again in 2019.

In the seven lotteries since, a team with the best odds won the first pick four times. The other three winners were complete long shots. Losing assures nothing.

Tanking will probably never be abolished, but the NBA is much closer to its end goal than it was a decade ago. The Pacers never tried to lose. Now they’re on the cusp, finally, of winning big.

(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Stacy Revere / Getty, Dylan Buell / Getty, Jason Miller / Getty)

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